Policy updated September 2025

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to have transparent, clear and consistent guidelines on how Uplift accepts and processes donations and fundraised income, ensuring that collection of donations is in alignment with our campaigns and values, while protecting our reputation and maintaining donor and member trust through transparency and accountability. This policy highlights Uplift’s responsibilities when accepting donations and establishes criteria for donation processes. 

Where does Uplift get its money from?

Uplift is independent and people-powered, we don’t take funding for campaigns from the Government, big corporations or political parties. We’re a member-led community, and a significant proportion of our income comes from donations from people like you. The rest of our funding comes from like-minded organisations that support campaigns aligned with the Uplift community’s priorities and values.

To comply with Irish Standards in Public Office (SIPO) rules, the body that oversees standards in relation to fundraising and spending on activities that can be classified as “political purposes” ie. some aspects of campaigning, advocacy and lobbying, Uplift does not accept donations over €99 at one time (or cumulative donations up to the value of €2,500 in any one year), other than for information and education purposes and towards the cost of running Uplift. If you’d like to make a donation of more than €99, please get in touch here.  Neither do we accept donations from individuals who live overseas other than for education and information purposes and for running costs. In line with SIPO guidelines, Uplift does not accept donations, of any value, in the form of cryptocurrency.

How do donations work?

Members chip in for tactics like paying for an advert, materials for a rally or carrying out research or investigations or for someone’s expertise or time and the tech tools needed. Every donation, big or small, helps power our work.

Uplift’s members often give in response to a specific call to action. One-off and monthly donations also help cover the day-to-day costs of running Uplift: including fair salaries for our small team, tech infrastructure, and a pot for quick-turnaround campaigns.

We’re committed to keeping our costs low. The Uplift community has big ambitions and the team works hard to make sure your donations go as far as possible. Running effective campaigns does mean spending money. Every action, from printing materials to organising events, comes with costs, including staff time. The time we put into campaigns varies depending on what’s needed, from a few days to several weeks.

What happens to my donation?

If you donated to support a specific campaign or tactic, we’ll spend your donation on that effort. If we can’t, for example, if the campaign was won or the opportunity has passed, we’ll direct the funds toward work on the same issue. If that’s not possible, we’ll put it into Uplift’s general fund to support our wider campaigning work.

If you’ve chipped in to a campaign and want to know how your money was used, we’ll update you via email or blog. If you haven’t heard from us, get in touch and we’ll be happy to let you know.

Who processes your donation?

Financial transactions on our website are processed through third-party payment providers. Uplift does not store your financial details. Here’s how it works:

We only share your personal information with payment processors to the extent necessary to process your donation. Again, Uplift does not store your card or payment details.

You can donate securely over the phone 01 513 3043, or by sending a cheque or postal order to Uplift, 13 North Main Street, Cork, T12 Y6W0, or giving us cash in person. Donations received by post or in person are recorded by the team and lodged into Uplift’s bank account. If an email or address is provided, donors will be sent an acknowledgement of receipt of their donation.

Donations may also be paid directly into our bank account: 

Account Name: Uplift 

Bank Name: Allied Irish Bank

Bank Address: 100/101 Grafton St, Dublin 2, Ireland

Bank Account Number: 55326020

IBAN: IE31AIBK93104755326020

Swift Code/BIC: AIBKIE2D

By donating you agree to Uplift’s Terms of Use, Data Protection Policy, and Donation Policy.

Financial Accounts

Uplift is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee. We have chosen not to be recognised as an official charity as this would affect our freedom to campaign and advocate freely, in line with our values and mission as a people powered community. However we do use SORP, the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities, for financial reporting.  Every year our full audited financial statements are published on our website, in line with our commitment to transparency and accountability. These reports give a clear picture of how money is raised and spent across our campaigns.

Security of donations

Your donation is secure. We use 128-bit SSL encryption technology, just like a bank, to protect your details. This means all information is encrypted and secure when you donate online. This means your personal and payment details are scrambled and protected so that:

  • Your credit card number, name, address, and email are turned into unreadable code while being sent over the internet.
  • Only the payment processor (like Stripe or PayPal) can unscramble this information to process your donation.
  • Hackers can’t steal your details even if they somehow intercept the data during transmission.

Your information is stored safely using industry-standard security measures. While Uplift doesn’t access or store your credit or debit card details, the payment platforms we use may store them securely for managing recurring payments. Our main payment processors – Stripe, PayPal and GoCardless – are all recognised leaders in secure online transactions.

Refunds & Cancellations

If you made a donation by mistake, don’t worry — just get in touch and we’ll refund the donation in full. You can also manage your own donations — including changes to monthly plans and downloading receipts — quickly and easily without having to contact the staff team, by logging into the donor portal via the link on the thank you email you received from Uplift, or by clicking here. 

Please contact Alex, our Operations Manager here, if you have any questions about your donation.

Questions or feedback?

Being  transparent and accountable about how Uplift is funded and how your donation is used is really important. As a people powered community it’s up to us all, the members and small team to make sure we are improving all the time and are as clear as possible about how money, especially member donations are used. If you’ve got a question or feedback do not hesitate to get in touch with us here.

If you’d like to help keep Uplift independent, and growing stronger so that together we’re making Ireland a better place to live for everyone, please consider chipping in.


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